True freshmen Brandon Polk and Saquon Barkley each ran for touchdowns in the win over Buffalo.

➤ 2015 ➤ Redshirt Freshman Season
Season: Appeared in 13 games…Ranked 38th in the FBS and seventh in the Big Ten with 7.7 yards per punt return…Was one of 17 redshirt freshmen to see action…Combined with Brandon Polk (vs. Buffalo) to become the first Penn State wide receiver pair with rushing touchdowns in the same season since 2008 when Derrick Williams and Chaz Powell both had rushing scores. at Temple (9/5): Had one rush for no gain. Buffalo (9/12): Logged four punt returns for 71 yards (14.2 ypr)…Ran back his first career punt 58 yards to set up Penn State’s first score of the game...His 58-yard return was the longest by a Nittany Lion since Derrick Williams’ 63-yard punt return for a touchdown at Wisconsin in 2008…The 58-yard return was also the longest non-scoring punt return since Mike Archie had a 62-yard return at Michigan State in 1993. Rutgers (9/19): Scored his first career touchdown on a 6-yard rush in the second quarter…Returned three punts for 20 yards (6.7 ypr). San Diego State (9/26): Returned four punts for 17 yards…Had a long punt return of 10 yards in the second quarter. Army (10/3): Returned one punt for 25 yards. Indiana (10/10): Had two rushing attempts for 11 yards…Returned five punts for 32 yards (6.4 ypr) with a long return of 19 yards in the fourth quarter. vs. Maryland (10/24): Made his first career reception – a 2-yard grab – in the second quarter. Illinois (10/31): Caught two passes for 31 yards…Grabbed a career-long 31-yard reception on Penn State’s first scoring drive. at Northwestern (11/7): Returned two punts for nine yards…Had a long punt return of eight yards. Michigan (11/21): Had one punt return for one yard.

➤ 2014 ➤ True Freshman Season
Redshirt season.

➤ High School
A two-time letterman at Swansboro High School for coach Tim Laspada...Played multiple positions, spending time at running back and receiver, along with returning kickoffs and punts...Was invited to The Opening on the Nike campus...Under Armour All-American as a senior and rushed for 699 yards and nine touchdowns, while making 28 receptions for 269 yards and four scores...Helped the Pirates to an 8-4 record and an appearance in the NCHSAA 3A playoffs as a senior team captain...Amassed more than 2,000 all-purpose yards during his junior season and gained nearly 1,500 all-purpose yards as a senior...Saw time in the secondary where he totaled 100 tackles, two interceptions and recovered seven fumbles...Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, ranking 66th in the ESPN 300...Played in the Under Armour All-America Game, was a Top 10 recruit in North Carolina by ESPN (fifth) and 247Sports.com (10th) and was rated among the nation's top 40 prep wide receivers by three of the major recruiting services.

➤ Personal
Full name is DeAndre Lewis Thompkins...Son of Shawn and Jawanna Thompkins...Has one younger brother, Tayshawn...Mother, Jawanna, played softball at Florida A&M University...Enjoys playing the guitar and watching movies...Interested in majoring in psychology to pursue a career in neuropsychology...Born October 1, 1995 in Pensacola, Fla.